Rob Me of my Sanity
by sLiCeOfLiFe
Summary: Sakura dreams of things that she can't imagine to be real, only to find out that on Halloween even your worst nightmares can come to life right before your eyes. For StormDragon666's Halloween one-shot contest. AU


So this is an entry for StormDragon666's Halloween one-shot contest. I actually just noticed it posted on her page a couple days ago and the first thing I did was compile some songs on my I-pod into a playlist for which I received all of my inspiration for this story I am about to write for you. Each section of centered and italicized words are lyrics to songs. Some are from different songs while some may be from the same piece of work, but regardless each section of lyrics is a break in the story and the words pertain to the section they introduce. Some sections are dream sequences, although these will also be in italics, they will not be centered.

Music includes: Flyleaf, Bring Me the Horizon, Asking Alexandria, The Pretty Reckless, Within Temptation, Evanescence, Kanye West,

I hope you all find enjoyment from this slightly darker side of my writing as much as I did as I was writing it. I apologize if you think it starts out a little slow. I promise, it gets better! As for the length of the story; I wanted it to explain before we got down to the real plot of the story.

DICLAIMER: As always, I don't own Naruto.

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><p><strong>Rob me of my Sanity<strong>

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><p><em>I hide myself in the dark<em>_  
><em>_In the dark, in the dark, in the dark__  
><em>_Used to be afraid of the dark__  
><em>_Of the dark, of the dark, of the dark__  
><em>_Those in the light know we die in the dark__  
><em>_In the dark, in the dark, in the dark_

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><p><em>She was running. She didn't know why she was running, or if she was supposed to be running from something, but she just kept running. Her movement took her to what looked to be a vast wheat field filled with the plants reaching up to brush against the skin on the middle of her biceps. She stopped in the middle of the infinite field and ran her hands over the tall grainy stems.<em>

'Why do I always come here?'

_A warm breeze blew softly through her pink tresses as she closed her emerald eyes at the relaxing sensation it sent through her body. The sun had just begun to set and the colors changed through the sky, causing her to gaze at the scene with wonder. The last bits of the sun's warmth played across her cheeks as she took in a deep breath of the natural air around her._

'There has to be something important about this place.'

_Suddenly the temperature in the field dropped to a cool temperature that wasn't at all pleasant as it whipped quickly across her pale skin. Her eyes looked around frantically as the sky and scenery around her began to darken dangerously. She looked around anxiously as the darkness seemed to only bring itself closer to her location by each passing second._

'What's going on? This can't be happening! This is a dream, but why does it feel so _real_?'

_She began to whisper silent pleas to the darkness to leave her alone, but it still didn't cease its approach. Sinking to her knees in the now dead looking wheat field, she clenched her hands to her head and continued to plea to the unknown monster. _

"_Sakura…"_

_As if the darkness also heard to quiet whisper, it stopped its assault and just left the distressed girl with only a circle of light around her form._

"_Who's there?" _

"_Sakura…"_

_Her fingers slowly unclenched from her hair as she gradually looked up to the surrounded darkness, as if to find the voice calling her name._

"_Who are you?"_

_She heard as well as felt the soft chuckle that echoed through the darkness around her as a small breeze silently ran around her form._

"_You will find out soon enough."_

_And the field rapidly set on fire, burning everything in sight. The last thing she remembered was the strong smell of smoke invading her senses before she awoke with the feeling of not being able to get enough air._

"_Our dear, sweet, Sakura…"_

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><p><em>The only thing I really know:<em>

_I can't sleep a night._

_I'm buried but breathing in regret_

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><p>"Remember that you're eight page paper over the laws of Konoha will be due next Tuesday," the woman at the front of the silent classroom told her students as they began to pack up their belongings as the end of their class came. The students remained silent as they exited the classroom, feeling the professor's eyes on their backs as they did.<p>

"Oh man," a brunette student said on an exhale as he accompanied his friends out of the jail they called their history classroom. "I can't believe she's really making us write an eight page paper over the laws as well as us having a midterm next week. I really think she's trying to kill me."

"Kiba, you might want to keep it down," his dark haired companion instructed he as continued to walk down the hall with his hands dug into the pockets of his black dress pants while his eyes gazed around the hallway cautiously. "There are still professors around who would graciously perceive your words as a threat against their school. I would hate for you to be too troublesome."

The addressed boy let out a deep sigh as he moved his arms to clasp behind his head as they continued their path. "This place is absolutely ridiculous," he murmured under his breath causing the female walking between them to stifle a giggle.

"Sakura," Kiba whined as he glanced down at his pink haired friend holding three thick books to her chest. "It's not funny. I'm being serious!"

She smiled up at him showing off her perfect teeth while her green eyes sparkled, "I know that, baka, but Shikamaru's right. Wait 'til we're out of this hell hole before you start insulting it and get us in trouble."

"What was that Miss Haruno?" one of the hall monitors questioned as he stepped in front of the trio, making them stop in their tracks.

"I was just suggesting to Kiba that he should say _hello_ to you when we passed by," she said with her famously sweet smile as she slightly tilted her head to the right. "It would be the polite thing to do after all."

"Of course, Miss Haruno," the employee retorted as he looked at the trio through his thick rimmed glasses. "Carry on."

The friends walked quickly out of the building and Sakura couldn't contain her laughter any longer as she burst out the doors leading her back to her college campus courtyard.

Shikamaru smirked at the giggling girl as she moved over to lean against a tree for support as her laughter slowly began to subside. "Nice save."

"Seriously," Kiba agreed with a wider smirk of his own as he moved t stand across from Sakura. "I thought he was going to expel you or something."

She hummed in reply to his comment as they made their way off the strictly ruled campus and over to a near by park. Sakura walked over to one of the bridges built over the small river that ran through the park and leaned her elbows against the ledge as she gazed at the water.

"I had another dream."

Shikamaru moved to stand next to his pink haired friend with his back leaning against the railing she was gazing over. "The same kind you've been having?"

"Yeah," she replied softly as she watched some of the red and orange leaves fall from a near by tree into the water, letting them float under her. "But this time someone was talking to me."

"Did you see them?"

"No. I just heard them. All I know about them is that they're male."

"So, wait. You know you're dreaming, but you don't know the outcomes of these dreams that you have over and over?" Kiba questioned as he leaned next to Sakura with his arms positioned the same as hers.

"Yeah. They seem to change slightly every time, but they're always in this damn wheat field."

"It sounds sort of like lucid dreaming," the pineapple haired boy commented quietly. "Except you're not the one manipulating your dreams like you should be. It's almost as if-"

"Someone else is controlling what happens in my dreams," Sakura finished for her friend as her fingers lightly traced the patterns of the rimed wood on the railing. "I've thought about that as well, but then it just seems impossible."

The pink haired girl let out a frustrated sigh as she gripped the railing and leaned her body back so that she was supporting her own weight. "I just want to know what it _means_."

Her two friends just watched her silently, not knowing what else to say.

"I'm gonna head home," Sakura spoke up quietly as she adjusted her backpack and gave her two friends her sweet smile. "I'll see you boys next week."

She began to walk across the bridge but turned to glance and smirked at Kiba over her shoulder, "And don't forget to actually do the History paper, dog boy. I'd hate for you to fail out of the class before we even get halfway through."

"Aw back off, Sakura," the triangle tattooed male told his friend as she continued taking small steps away with her continuous smirk. "We both know it's going to be done because Shikamaru's gonna write it for me."

"Tch," the lazy pineapple haired boy sounded as his hands returned to his pockets while he began his journey in the opposite direction. "Not going to happen."

"Why the hell not?" Kiba protested as he followed his friend off the other side of the bridge.

"It's too much of a drag."

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><p><em>Just stand up and scream<em>

_The tainted clock is counting down_

_You gave into me_

_Would you say the nights are far too long now?_

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><p><em>She knew that once again, she was dreaming. This time she automatically appeared in the wheat field from her previous dreams which seemed to be unaffected from the outcome of her most recent visit.<em>

"_Where are you?" _

_Sakura heard a familiar chuckle filter through as the temperature dropped rapidly giving the pinkette the ability to make out her breath in the air around her. "I'm everywhere, Sakura…"_

_The addressed female continued to glance around the field which slowly began to decay in a matter of seconds. "Why are you making me have these dreams?"_

_The chuckle rang through the cold air once more as Sakura tried to locate the waves of sound that fluttered through the dead field. _

"_Think of it as a map…" A bolt of lightning struck down onto the field causing it to spark into rapidly growing flames around her, leaving only the section she stood untouched._

"_All you have to do is know how to use it."_

_The overwhelming smoke filled her senses again and she began to cough rapidly, her eyes squinted in order to try and locate the voice that she knew was around her. She placed her hand over her mouth and nose to protect herself from the smoke which she wished didn't feel so real as it suffocated her senses as well as her sanity. _

"_So go on, Sakura…"_

_She heard the voice whisper behind her, making her whip her body around to come face to face with a figure with menacing red eyes._

"_Use it."_

_And she let out a terrifying scream, allowing the thick smoke to fill her lungs in fatal attempts of suffocation._

"_Find us if you can, Sakura…"_

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><p><em>And although I try, I can't escape my mind<em>

_Dreams, my mind won't lift me from my dreams_

_And although you try, you can't escape me_

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><p>The next day, Sakura decided that enough was enough and she would provide herself with a little adventure in order to find the reasons behind her reoccurring dreams. She had a hunch that this field that she kept seeing in her dreams was close by, and she was determined to find it.<p>

By going to the library and taking a look at an old but intricate map of the city of Konoha and noticing a few more wooded areas on the map that she had never been to, she began to make her way towards them.

By the time she had tracked through three of the forest like areas, with no success in locating any sort of wheat field, Sakura wanted to give up. But managing to overcome her slowly exhausting form, she made her way into the last wooded area on her list, which also happened to be the farthest away.

"Stupid forests, stupid bugs, _stupid_ Konoha," Sakura murmured to herself as she pushed a branch out of her path as she continued her journey stepping over rocks and avoiding thorn bushes. "I just want these nightmarish dreams to end."

Feeling that this area of land was as hopeless as the previous ones, Sakura was about to turn back until she saw what looked to be a sunset peaking through the trees a few feet in front of her. Thinking that she had found what she was looking for, she sprinted the last length of land until she burst through the trees into the field she had become so familiar with.

"It_ is_ real," she whispered in amazement as she glanced around at the tall stocks of wheat that swayed slightly in the fall breeze that ran through them. She ran her fingers along the high stems as she glanced around the clearing.

"But why here?"

Sakura watched as the last bit of sun left the sky, leaving the dark sky full of bright stars as far as the eye could see. She knew that this wasn't going to be the extent of her night. If the voice from her dream wanted her to come here, then there was a reason she was here.

"What's so important about this place, huh?" she called out into the field as she raised her arms from her sides.

A cool breeze like the ones from her dreams whipped through her hair as she looked towards the north end of the clearing where it came from. She noticed what looked like a shadow of a man standing in the distance

Not bothering to question who it was, she asked her next question. "Why did you bring me here?"

The shadow didn't respond and suddenly dissipated into thin air. Sakura felt the steady drop in temperature as she slowly looked around the dark field to relocate the shadow. Suddenly she felt all control leave her body as she stood frozen in the middle of the field.

'_I…I can't move!'_

The sound of an intake of breath was heard behind her as ice cold hands lightly grasped her upper arms. The feeling of the hands were so cold, they almost felt as though there was no life left in them.

"You want to have a little mystery in your life, _Sakura_. I'm just here to give you whatever it is you want..."

A shiver ran its way down her spine as she felt the cool breath of the person, or thing, behind her as it whispered dangerous words in her ear. But she noticed the voice in her ear seemed different than the one she remembered before.

"I never asked for that," she whispered as her fear started to peak from her words.

She heard what sounded like a short chuckle from the person behind her as it constricted its grip around her forearms making Sakura flinch at the tightness and slight pain.

"It's not about what you asked for, _Sakura_. It's about what you're _meant_ to have…"

The pinkette felt her breathing lose it's steadiness as she nervously swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "What am I meant to have?"

She swore she could feel the smirk radiating off the figure behind her as it moved its ice cold hands from her arms to her petit waist and pulled her closer to its form.

"You'll find out tomorrow when the clock strikes twelve. But before that…"

The figure behind her spun her around until she was face to face with bright jade eyes.

"You might want to…do a little _research_."

Before she could question the man, he spun her back the other way and she felt his presence disappear all together. As she turned back to look for him, she noticed the familiar flames from her dreams begin to surround the field once more. But this time she wasn't dreaming. They were real.

And as she stood there and watched the flames consume the field around her, she turned back to the north end of the field once more hoping to see the shadow before she fled.

She didn't. But she did see something else that made chills crawl across her entire body. A house consumed in flames and thirteen pairs of eyes looking out the windows and deep into her soul.

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><p><em>Oh sweet insanity<em>

_You take my hand and walk me out into the dark_

_We walk this road for hours and hours_

_On a collision course to hell we march_

_We're doomed to this now, oh the irony_

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><p><em>Her dream consisted of nothingness. The world she was in was darkness; nothing but darkness. Voices were speaking to her, but she couldn't make out their words.<em>

"_What do you want?"_

_She received no reply as the whispers seemed to become more aggressive and slightly louder._

"_What do you _want_?"_

"_It took one Haruno to bond them…" _

_She could barely hear the small whisper over the sounds of the other voices._

"_And it will take one Haruno to release them…"_

_She searched the darkness frantically, "Release them? Release who?"_

"_Just remember, _Sakura_," the voice whispered in her ear softly. "If you release them, you also bond them…"_

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><p><em>Your eyes, your eyes<em>

_I can see inside your eyes, your eyes_

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><p>When Sakura woke up the next morning, she knew she needed to head back over to the library and do some research like the shadow told her too.<p>

Who would have thought she would be taking orders from a creepy shadow? Certainly not her.

When she got to the library, which she knew her way around quite well, she went back too the section that provided her with all of Konoha's past events. As she flipped through old newspaper clippings, she noticed one heading that caught her eye. "Mansion burns down and gang disappears with it,"she read aloud to herself. "This could be it."

She quickly flipped to the page that the story was printed on and read out loud. "Infamous criminals band together to terrorized the city of Konoha. But in a strange turn of events, they all turned up missing. Authorities have been informed that the immoral group have been assumed missing since midnight on the thirty first of October."

Sakura looked up into the corner of the page at the date, "The thirty first of October…that's tomorrow. And the date of the disappearance would have been one hundred years ago tomorrow." She remembered back to her previous night and what the shadow said to her.

"When the clock strikes twelve," she murmured to herself as her emerald eyes widened slightly in realization as she whispered her next words. "At midnight tonight."

Her eyes returned to the paper once more as she continued to quietly read aloud."On the same day as the alleged disappearance, the old Konoha mansion was burned to the ground. There have been no leads on the reasoning of the fire, but authorities will continue to investigate."

As her thoughts swarmed about her dreams and how they could possibly connect with something that happened over one hundred years ago she noticed a list of names along with pictures of the men that disappeared. Glancing at the list of pictures and names, she noticed that there were thirteen. The same number of eyes she saw looking back at through her from the house that didn't seem to exist.

The pink haired female placed the newspaper article down upon the library desk she occupied as she ran a manicured hand through her tresses, "But what does this have to do with me? What purpose is there to these dreams?"

'_Well whatever it is, I'm going to find out tonight.'_

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><p><em>I'm searching for answers, 'cause some thing is not right<em>

_I follow the signs, I'm close to the fire_

_I fear that soon you'll reveal your dangerous mind._

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><p>Sakura wanted nothing more than for these dreams to stop and she knew that if she wanted that to happen, she needed to solve the mystery that these shadows had given her. But she knew that the situation she was getting herself into was something of the paranormal nature, and that fact made her nervous.<p>

Of course she believed in the paranormal, but the idea that it was involving her in its business did not exactly sit well with the pinkette. And as she tracked back through the forest which she knew led to the haunted wheat field, a part of her desperately wanted her to turn back and go to the safety of her own home.

But she knew she couldn't.

After everything she had been through so far, she needed answers and she knew the only way she would get them is if she did exactly what she was told. And tonight, she knew she had to go back to the wheat field she had become so familiar with. She had to see the Konoha mansion that she saw a glimpse of the night before. She had to know if the thirteen pairs of eyes she saw in that house belonged to the criminals that terrorized Konoha all those years ago. She had to know her role in the story that was cut off one hundred years ago.

And by the end of the night, she was going to get her answers.

When she arrived in the field, she noticed that it did show the effects of her previous visit. All the stocks were burnt and crumbling to the ground giving the field a sickening black shade. It was already dark when she arrived at the field, with a flashlight in hand as well as a backpack full of things she thought she might need. She looked down at the watch on her wrist which read eleven fifty seven.

"Alright creepy shadows," the pinkette called out lightly as she glanced hesitantly around the decayed field. "I have three minutes until midnight, so why don't you come out here and fill me in on some little details I'm missing."

As if on cue, two shadows ascended down from the dark sky to stand ten feet in front of her. She couldn't see their faces, or the color of their eyes for that matter, as she watched their still figures.

"Why am I here?" she asked them sternly, trying to show that she wasn't intimidated by their paranormal forms.

Sakura heard one of them chuckle, "Such the eager girl, aren't you_ Sakura_…"

The addressed girl glared at their wispy black forms, "Don't make me ask again."

"You're here to save us, Sakura," the other told her evenly as the tone of his voice alone seemed to make the world around them still. "You're the only one who can."

"What do you mean save you?" the girl asked, tightening her grip on the green flashlight in her hands. "What do you need to be saved from?"

"The curse," the one who spoke first answered.

"What curse?" Sakura asked. "You guys haven't told me anything about what I'm doing here or how I'm supposed be the one that helps you in whatever way! I have no idea what's going on, because you won't give me answers."

"You will get your answers at midnight, Sakura," the second shadow informed her.

As if on cue, the time change to midnight and the shadows previously standing before her disappeared into thin air. Before she could question their sudden disappearance, the field burst into familiar flames once more.

As the fire reached closer to her form, she noticed a path that led to the north end of the field, where the now visible Konoha mansion stood in all its glory. She knew that whoever was in that house wanted her to go in, but the same part of her mind that told her to turn back earlier now told her to run away if she wanted to live.

She took slow but stiff steps until she reached the front door where she read the riddle carved jaggedly into the dark wood.

"The one who enters may provide release, but to forever take with them the evil that seeks. One is easily fooled by the darkness at hand, but know they will seek as fast as they can. You may try to flee from the evil they be, but remember that at the strike of more than four the evil may let you find a door."

"What does that mean?" she questioned as she traced the words.

"If you don't open the door in the next fifteen seconds, you may never know, _Sakura_," a voice spoke next to her.

Sakura whipped her head to the side to find a young man who looked to be roughly the same age as her, leaning against the old frame of the mansion door. He had flawless pale skin and dark hair that was tied off at the nape of his neck. His eyes were dark and seemed endless as she noticed how well they were accented with the tone of his skin. He was wearing dark suit pants and a matching jacket with a black shirt underneath.

Before Sakura could question the male now standing next to her he placed a finger to her lips.

"There's no time for questions right now, Sakura," his velvet voice told her evenly. "If you want answers to the questions I know you have, open the door and go inside."

He ran a finger down the side of her face before he whispered his last words before disappearing.

"Everything you desire so strongly to know is right beyond this door."

Sakura looked anxiously at the door before glancing behind her at the burning field, noticing the path was no longer there. Thinking she had no other choice, she pushed open the large doors and let herself be consumed by the Konoha mansion, as well as its inhabitants.

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><p><em>Blinded by faith, I couldn't hear<em>

_All the whispers, the warnings so clear_

* * *

><p>As she stepped into the house that had once disappeared, she looked around the dimly lit entryway. The floors, walls, and furniture of the house reflected its age as she looked at it all in wonder.<p>

"Wow," Sakura whispered as she ran her hand along the back of one of the vintage couches, enjoying the velvet texture of the cushion as well as the delicate wood framing. "This place is amazing."

"Isn't it though?"

The pinkette jumped at the sound of the voice as she looked down at the previously unoccupied couch to find a red head with lazy looking brown eyes. His back was positioned in the corner of the piece of furniture while his legs lay along the length of the cushions.

"How did you get there so fast?" she asked in almost a daze at his rapid appearance.

The male smirked at her, "Magic, _Sakura_."

Taking a slight step away from the couch and looking into the red head's brown eyes with a calculating gaze, she slowly moved her arm back to her side, "How do you know my name?"

He let out a short but deep laugh as he effortlessly pushed himself off the couch, "A better question may be, how do _we_ know your name?"

"We?" she questioned with her nerves slightly peaking from her words.

"Yes," a voice breathed into her neck as she felt hands place themselves on her hips. "_We_."

Sakura let out a gasp of surprise as she quickly turned around and was face to face with a pair of ringed grey eyes and a face covered in silver piercings. The male had a vibrant shade of orange hair and surpassed her in height by almost a foot.

"How many of you are there?" she asked in a low whisper as she leaned herself into the back of the couch in order to provide some space between herself and the mysterious man who was just breathing into her neck.

The pierced man smirked at her nervousness as he held out an arm for her to take, "Come with me and I shall show you."

Sakura was sure that her nerves could easily be read from her facial expression and the way she was nervously looking around the house and back at the two men now standing before her, each holding out an arm.

The more childish part of her mind reminded her that she shouldn't be talking to strangers while another part of her wanted her to run like hell back to the comforts of her own home. Unfortunately neither of these options were chosen as she gave into the curiosity that was clawing at the back of her mind and placed her hands lightly over the arms she was provided with.

Sakura failed to notice the smirk the two red heads shared as they lead her off into another part of the house.

* * *

><p><em>I'm searching for answers not questioned before<em>

_The curse of awareness, there's no peace of mind_

_As your true colors show, a dangerous sign_

* * *

><p>As Sakura walked through the house she realized just how old and creepy it was. The pictures on the walls seemed as though they were trying to look into her soul and the only lighting were the candles on the walls and tables that she passed by.<p>

"I thought this place burned down over a hundred years ago," Sakura's voice finally spoke as she looked up at the men from the corners of her eyes. "Why is it that it still looks perfectly intact?"

"Patience, Sakura," the man, you she recognized from the paper as Pein, retorted smoothly, his voice reminding her of silk.

"You'll get your answers soon enough," the other male named Sasori told her as they reached a large set of double doors and the end of the hall they were traveling down. The men slowly pushed open the beautiful but dark doors and led Sakura into what looked to be the grand hall which happened to be filled with a good number of men.

Sakura swallowed nervously as she glanced around the room at the eyes that were all staring back at her. She recognized he dark haired male from outside the house and saw a few pairs of eyes that she recalled seeing in her dreams.

Taking in a deep breath to calm her nerves, she stepped away form the two red heads to stand in the front of the room as she looked around at the men, counting thirteen. The same number of eyes she saw only the night before.

"Some of you have been in my dreams," she spoke as she located the exact pair of red eyes she first remembered seeing as well as the pair of jade eyes. "What I want to know is why? Why are you guys making me have these dreams and what part do I play in this messed up situation you seem to be trapped in?"

"You're not even curious about who we are?" one man asked who had what looked to have stitches all over his face and body.

"Oh, I know who you are," she replied as she noticed some surprised looks from the men in the room. "I've known since this morning. And if my memory is correct, you're Kakuzu."

"Indeed I am," he answered as he took a few steps closer to her form with a small smirk tugging at the stitches at the corners of his lips. "And what do you know of me, girl?"

"I know that during your time period you were charged with the crimes of money laundering, tax evasion, theft, embezzlement, and insurance fraud. Quite the list you've racked up, but not as long as some of the lists your friends have created for themselves," Sakura spoke bravely as she glanced into Kakuzu's green eyes before she glanced at a male in the room with slicked back silver hair and vibrant violet orbs.

"You, Hidan, had the longest list by far," she told the man who had a predatory smirk playing on his lips.

"Let's fucking hear it then, you hot bitch," he challenged, causing Sakura to glare at him.

"Fine then you arrogant bastard," she spat back. "Aggravated battery, domestic violence, hate crimes, voluntary manslaughter on more than five accounts, first degree murder on more than _ten_ accounts, as well as the more embarrassing moments of public intoxication and indecent exposure." She continued to stare into his brightly colored eyes with a smug expression, "Did I miss anything?"

"Unless you keep him away from you, you're going to want to add sexual harassment to that list, yeah," the male she recognized as Deidara spoke causing Sakura's smirk to widen slightly.

"Fuck off you little shit," the foul mouthed gang member retorted. "You're just fucking jealous about the damn obvious fact that I'm more of a fucking man than you are."

"Whatever you tell yourself to make you feel better, yeah," Deidara scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Putting aside the stupidity of some of our more immature members," one of the men spoke up from the back of the room as he walked closer to Sakura's position. "You know who the rest of us are?"

She looked up into the man's eyes and saw that they were red. She knew that there were three men from the gang that had red eyes since they were all related to each other. Looking over the rest of his form taking in his long black hair that cascaded over his shoulder and down part of his back as well as noticing his more mature features, she knew who she was speaking too.

"Madara Uchiha," she addressed quietly as she moved closer to him as looked up into his dark ruby eyes raising her brows slightly in realization of the familiarity. "How can I forget those eyes?"

The older Uchiha let a smirk play across his handsomely pale features, "I apologize, love. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Who said I was scared?" she retorted.

Madara's smirked widened slightly as he leaned down to let his hot whisper play in her ear, "The way I made you _scream_ may have given it away, darling."

Sakura flushed slightly at the innuendo he implied behind his words as she took a step back from the man who she had read was known to be lecherous.

"Madara-teme, get away from here," a blonde boy exclaimed as he moved to stand next to the pink haired girl and wrap an arm around her shoulders, successfully pulling her into his side. "Sakura-chan obviously is uncomfortable with you around her."

"Watch your mouth, boy," Madara replied as he narrowed his eyes at the blonde.

"The dobe is right, uncle," the boy she recognized as the last Uchiha spoke. "Leave her alone."

"Tch," Madara sounded in annoyance as he looked down at his nephew. "Respect your elders, boy."

"I'll respect you when you deserve it," Sasuke answered before he moved to stand on the other side of the pinkette, still giving his uncle a mild glare.

"Whoa there boys," Sakura interjected, not moving away from the blonde still holding onto her shoulders. "Let's take it down a notch, alright?"

The two males just continued to stare each other down making Sakura let out a sigh before she looked up into the bright blue eyes of the man she was standing so close to. As if he noticed she was staring at him, he looked down at her with a bright smile.

"You're Naruto, right?"

"That's me!" he replied back with his still chipper smile giving her a thumbs up. "Naruto Uzumaki, at your service!"

Sakura returned his smile with one of her own, "You seem way too nice to be a criminal, Naruto."

"Glad you think so, Sakura-chan!"

When the pinkette looked back to the middle of the room, she noticed a very tall blue skinned man making his way over to her now significantly shorter form.

"Kisame Hoshigaki," Sakura greeted as she looked up at the very tall man who now stood before her. "Your picture does you no justice. You're much taller, and much more blue in person."

The shark like man gave the girl a toothy grin as he stared down at her white his white eyes, "I guess I can take that as a compliment."

"Besides the point," she mumbled quietly before clearing her throat and looking at the rest of the men. "Can someone answer my previous questions?"

"What have you gathered so far?" Itachi asked her.

"That you are a gang of criminals who used to live in Konoha," she began as she looked around the room and matched the rest of the faces of the males to the pictures she saw in the newspaper article. "You mysteriously disappeared coincidently on the same day that this mansion was burned to the ground, which is one hundred years ago today." She paused at let out a breath as she ran a hand through her hair, "What I don't understand is what any of this has to do with me?"

The pink haired female looked around the room and the thirteen handsome men, waiting for them to give her an answer. She raised a manicured pink brow at the group, "No one is going to give me an answer?"

They still remained silent.

Sakura let out a frustrated sigh, "If none of you are going to answer me, I'll just leave."

"I'm afraid that's not possible now, Sakura," the one named Neji told her. She had recognized him right away with his pale lavender eyes and long chestnut hair. That, and the Hyuga family was a hot topic in many history lectures she had to go through.

"And why not, Neji?"

He smirked when she spoke his name and Sakura wasn't sure if she should be cautious or brush it off. When he continued to smirk, she figured caution needed to be taken.

"Because no one can leave the mansion after midnight."

"What do you mean I can't leave?"

"He means exactly what he says, Sakura," Sasori told her.

"I don't understand," the pinkette replied as she looked towards the other Uchiha she had spoken to before she entered the mansion. "You told me that I had to enter the mansion before midnight."

"That I did," Itachi answered simply but hints of amusement could be detected in his tone.

"You never told me that I wouldn't be able to leave once I came in!" she shot back as a wave of panic flashed through her body. "I…I can't _stay_ here! I have to leave!"

"That is not possible as Neji already stated," Itachi told her, this time showing amusement as it tugged at the corners of his perfect lips.

"Stop smiling!" Sakura exclaimed to the Uchiha as she ran a shaky hand through her bubblegum tresses, stopping to tightly grip some of her hair. "This isn't funny!

She felt Naruto's grip around her shoulders tighten as he pulled her closer, "Its ok, Sakura-chan."

"None of this is okay," she whispered as she looked around the room in panic. "None of this."

She removed herself from Naruto's grasp and moved quickly back to the double doors in which she entered the new room. Before she could reach the handle, a handle grasped her wrist and pulled her attention away from the door and towards a pair of green eyes.

"There's no way out, Sakura," the male with jade eyes spoke. She knew him to be Gaara, one of the men that she remembered from her dreams. His blood red locks were tousled and his red tattoo on his forehead made him seem intimidating, but Sakura knew that now was not the time to be intimidated.

She pulled her hand out of Gaara's grasp and pushed the doors open, "There _has_ to be."

The men watched her leave the room, with the large doors shutting behind her.

"Zetsu," Pein's voice called out. "Bring her back."

"Yes sir," the addressed male answered as he smirked and began to sink through the floor. "**What a wonderful temper she has. She will be fun to break**."

* * *

><p><em>So many fears were swimming around and around in my mind<em>

_Who would have dreamed the secrets we would find_

_I've found a world where love and dreams and darkness all collide_

_Maybe this time we can leave our broken world behind_

* * *

><p>Once Sakura was out of the grand hall she ran as fast as she could to the front doors. After plenty of pulling, kicking, and pounding she knew there was no way she was going to get the door open.<p>

"This can't be happening to me," she whispered as she sunk to her knees on the hard wood floor under her feet. "Why is this happening to me?"

She leaned her head forward and let her forehead rest against the cool wood of the sealed front doors, "There has to be some other way to get this door open."

Thinking of her last resort, she stood up and pulled out a bobby pin from her pocket knowing that picking locks wasn't too hard or a task for her. As she placed the pin into the lock slowly and started to jiggle the utensil, she felt a painful shock travel from the door and into her body. She gasped in pain and dropped to her knees once more. Looking down at the hand that once held the bobby pin she noticed the jagged burns that now coursed up her palm.

Her breathing was heavy as she tried to take her mind off the pain. Before she could understand what was happening to her, her body began to sink into the floor and surround her in darkness. She felt something holding onto her form and she didn't know what else to do other than to hold on tightly to the foreign object. When she noticed light behind her closed eye lids, she slowly opened her eyes.

Once they were opened, she just wanted to close them once more.

"Welcome back, Sakura," Pein welcome with a smirk that he and the rest of the men had across their god like faces.

Sakura just glared at the men scattered through out the room as she continued to feel the pain from the previous door shock still racking through her body. She then noticed that she was in someone's arms and looked up to be greeted with the half black and half white face of Zetsu.

"Put me down," she hissed.

The man smirked, "Of course, **you little hellion**."

Once she was released from Zetsu's hold she moved away from him, holding her injured hand to her chest. Her fear and panic ebbed back into her emotions as she gazed around the room.

'_I'm going to be trapped here forever.'_

She was so lost in her own panicked thoughts that she didn't notice the men talking to her and moving closer until she noticed Itachi trying to pull her hand away form her chest. Her body jumped at the cold contact of his hands as she pulled away rapidly.

"Don't touch me."

"Sakura," Neji's voice called out as he moved closer and held out his hand. "Let us see your hand."

"Get away from me," she spat as she back farther away from the group who continued to edge closer to her form.

"Sakura," Sasori's voice spoke firmly, as if that was going to make her want to be any closer to them than she already was.

"Don't come any closer to me," she whispered as she continued her backwards path. "I don't want you near me."

She backed into something or someone as she took a couple more steps and immediately tried to jump away, only to have the person place their hands on her forearms. She hesitantly looked up to find azure colored eyes staring back at her with concern.

"You're fine, Sakura," he whispered as he turned her around and pulled her into a hug. She tried to free herself from his arms but it was useless, he was too strong. She was helpless. _Helpless_. At their mercy. "Just hear us out, yeah."

"I don't understand," she whispered into Deidara's chest as she gripped the fabric of his shirt, feeling her knees start to go weak against her will. The blonde sunk down to his knees with her and held her tighter, with one hand in her hair and the other around her waist, tracing small circles into her skin. "What do you want with me?"

"Naruto," Madara's voice called out to the other blonde. "Go get some bandages." Naruto nodded then hurried off to do as he was told.

"As you know Sakura, we are criminals by choice," Madara began as he watched the shaking girl in Deidara's arms. "Because of our heinous crimes against society, as well as the world, we were cursed; cursed to the confines of this place, only to reappear every twenty-five years. But even when we reappear, we cannot fully leave this place."

Sakura continued to listen as she pressed her face into Deidara's chest. She heard Naruto approaching her and she looked up at the other blonde who gave her a warm smile in response as he crouched down and slowly took her wounded hand into his own and started to wrap it in bandages.

"We are the damned, Sakura," Pein's voice spoke next. "We are to deserve nothing for what we have done in the past. But if we were to find a person so pure, so perfect to come here on Halloween, we could be free."

"If they chose to release us," Sasuke's voice added.

Sakura just stared at the men around the room who were only looking at her. "Are you saying I'm this person? I'm the one who has to release you?"

"Yes," Kakuzu replied. "You're the only one with the ability to give us the release we've been seeking for the past one hundred years."

"We need you, Sakura," Gaara's voice spoke, the slight desperation evident in the word need. "You're the only one who can help us."

'_They're hiding something from me,'_ she thought to herself as she watched Naruto tie off her bandaged hand. _'There has to be a catch.'_

"You would return back to my world," her voice trailed off before she looked up to meet Madara's eyes. "But why would you want to do that after all these years?"

She noticed Hidan smile dangerous towards her from the back of the group as he leaned against one of the walls. "I have some unfinished business in your world."

Pein smirked as well as he turned to glance at Hidan, "Yes. We all do."

Sakura removed herself from Deidara's grasp and stood up, giving Pein and Hidan and narrow glare. "You were damned for a reason," she told them evenly.

"Yes," Pein answered as he turned back to face the pinkette. "We all were, _Sakura_."

"Some more than others," she spat back.

"But here's the thing, doll face," Sasori spoke as he too had a smirk on his lips. "That's not true. We're all here because we all _deserve_ to be here."

"You may think some people here have good hearts love, but that's not the case," Madara told her with a predatory smile as he circled her figure. "There is evil in everyone, Sakura, except for you that is."

The pinkette glared into the eldest Uchiha's demonic eyes, "I won't do what you're asking of me. If you're damned to stay here, then you'll stay here. I won't help you get out of here if all you plan to do is destroy the city."

Hidan began to make his way over to the defiant pinkette, stopping only when his nose was barely brushing over her own and his hand was tightly gripping her jaw, "There are other fucking ways to leave this shitty place, but they will be against your fucking will," he told her before her moved his mouth to her ear and nibbled her ear lobe. "Not that I'll fucking complain."

Sakura smacked the fuchsia eyed male's hand away from her chin then pushed him form away from her, "Fat chance, you sick bastards."

The pinkette felt someone come up behind her and place their hands on her shoulders. She tilted her head to find Kisame's taller form hovering over her, "You better start running, squirt. We'll give you a head start."

She kept looking up into his eyes, looking for the truth behind his words. Instead of his eyes, she saw it in his sinister shark like smile.

So she ran.

* * *

><p><em>I've got a secret<em>

_It's on the tip of my tongue it's on the back of my lungs_

_And I'm gonna keep it_

_I know something you don't know_

* * *

><p>Locked door, locked door, another locked door, broom closet, bathroom, another locked door. Sakura was seriously running out of options down the hallway she decided to find a hiding place. As tried another door and found that it was unlocked, but if someone decided to check this hallway, this room would be the most obvious place for her to be.<p>

'_Damn it,' _she cursed inwardly as she continued her search down the hall. _'I don't have many more options.'_

Turning back down the hallway, she went into the unlocked room and looked around. There weren't many places where she could hide away, until she noticed a large vent in the ceiling.

Climbing up into the dusty air way, she started crawling quietly down the large vents until she could find a place where she could safely hide herself.

After crawling for about fifteen minutes she heard voices talking below her.

'_I must be over the great hall.'_

"You all know what we must do if we are to leave this place," Pein's voice was telling the group. "Now go, we only have so much time. And with her being as clever as she is, she may figure it out."

'_What do they mean figure it out?' _she pondered as she watched the men split off in their separate directions, all of them but Pein leaving the great hall.

"The one who enters may provide release, but to forever take with them the evil that seeks. One is easily fooled by the darkness at hand, but know they will seek as fast as they can. You may try to flee from the evil they be, but remember that at the strike of more than four the evil may let you find a door."

'_The riddle!'_

"Yes, Sakura, the riddle."

'_Shit! He knows I'm here.'_

"A poor place for you to crawl to after all the time we gave you as a head start. What a shame," he chided with a smirked before he looked straight up into the vent.

"Fuck you, you sick bastard!" Sakura cursed as she sent a blaring glare down at the pierced man. Suddenly he disappeared only to reappear in the vent directly in front of her.

"Shit!" Sakura cursed as she turned around quickly to crawl away only to have Pein pull her ankle and tug her towards him enough that he was hovering over her body. "You have to kill me, don't you? You have to kill me to get out of here."

Pein chuckled at the woman beneath him, "Of course not, Sakura. You're too perfect to harm."

"Then _what_?"

"I'll tell you Sakura, but only because I believe that you will not succeed," the orange haired male whispered as he tucked some of her disheveled pink hair behind her ear.

"Overconfident prick," she hissed as she tried to remove herself from his grip, with no avail.

"If you can get out of this house before the clock strikes four, you are free," he told her before his smirk returned. "If you can't reach an exit before the clock strikes four, you can still leave but you take us with you whether you want to or not."

"That won't happen," Sakura hissed as she stared into his ringed eyes. "I won't let you out of this place."

"After four, it won't matter. If you want to be free of this place and it's after four, we go regardless. Unless of course, you decide not to leave. If you choose to stay after the clock strikes four, we stay too."

Sakura's eyes widened frighteningly at his words.

"But you stay here with us."

"No," she whispered.

"Yes, my dear sweet Sakura," he whispered in her ear as her body went stiff. "Those are the rules. I didn't make them, I just enforce them. Although I can honestly say, I wont mind whatever you choose because either way," he paused as he licked the shell of her ear, making her shudder. "I'll be with you."

"No," she told him as she struggled violently under his hold. "No, no, no, no, no! Let go of me!"

Pein's smile widened dangerously once more as he roughly pinned her arms over her head and gazed down at the beauty in her horror stricken face, "Just accept it, Sakura. You won't be getting out of here before four and you know you won't open those doors and let us out. You're trapped here for another twenty-five years at max, but even then it's unlikely we'll let you try and leave again."

Pein heard the pinkette make a growling noise before he was abruptly pushed off of the pinkette who did something he would have never expected her to do. She kicked open the vent over the great hall, and jumped down.

"Sakura!" he called after the falling girl.

She was smart enough to roll when she hit the ground, but the sickening sound of her left arm cracking filled the room right before her scream of pain. The tears rolled down her pale cheeks as she slowly pushed herself off the ground with her good arm before looking at the clock, and then back up to Pein.

"I will not go down without a fight," her voice told him before she ran out of the hall, holding her now broken arm.

"So be it," Pein spoke with a cocky smirk crossing his pierced lips.

* * *

><p><em>These are the darkest clouds to have surrounded me <em>

_Now I find myself alone, caught in a cage_

_There's no flower to be found in here_

* * *

><p>Her arm throbbed as she hid behind corners and in rooms. The tears still flowed down her face as she searched for the exit that would lead to her freedom. After avoiding the gang members for the past two hours, she was only expecting it to get harder from here on out. She had already been by the front door which was blocked off by both Sasuke and Itachi, both of which she would have no chance against, so she kept moving to find another exit.<p>

'_There has to be at least three other ways out. I just have to find them.'_

Hearing foot steps approaching from another hallway, she quickly edged herself back into the nearest room and watched through the key hole. Kisame's large figure walked past with no suspicion and continued down the next hallway.

Letting out a quick sigh of relief she moved to open to door and return back to the task of finding an exit. Before she could fully open the door, she was grabbed around the waist with a hand clamping over her mouth and pulled back into the room. She tried to struggle against the person behind her, but it only caused excruciating pain to shoot up her arm and her to cry out in pain that was muffled my the hand over her mouth.

"Sakura-chan, calm down," Naruto's familiar voice hushed in her ear, causing her to instantly relax in his hold. He slowly removed his hand from her mouth as she turned around in his hold.

"Naruto, thank kami it's you," she whispered as she laid her had against the blonde's chest, cradling her broken arm. "You have to help me."

"Help you with what, Sakura-chan?" he asked as he tried to calm the panicked pinkette by smoothing down her pink locks.

"You have to help me find another exit so I can get out of here, I only have an hour left," Sakura whispered. "I can't do it by myself."

"What happened to your arm, Sakura-chan?" Naruto questioned, disregarding her previous words as he continued to play with her hair while glancing down at her injury.

"I fell from the ceiling trying to get away from Pein, but that's beside the point, Naruto. I need you to help me get out of here," she told him as she placed a hand on his whiskered cheek. "Can you help me?"

"You can't leave, Sakura-chan," his voice was low, unlike the voice she was used to hearing. "You are in no position to leave. Stay here so I can take care of you."

"Naruto?" she questioned as she tried to pull back, only to have the blonde grip her forearms tightly and keep her in place.

"Just stay with me, Sakura-chan."

"No, Naruto," she whimpered as she realized what he was doing. Sakura began to struggle in his grip trying to move away, ignoring the pain in her arm as much as she could. "Not you, Naruto. You're not like them. Let me go."

"I can't, Sakura-chan. I…"

"Let me go!" the pink haired girl yelled as she ripped herself from his grasp, ignoring his pleas and the horrid pain in her left arm. She ran out the door and quickly down the hallways, not even regarding the fact that she needed to be stealthy if she ever wanted to leave.

Before she could correct her stupid mistake, she ran into someone else. "Hidan," she breathed out as the sadistic member held her arms against her sides.

"Hey there hot bitch. Fucking going somewhere?"

"Let me go, Hidan," she commanded, trying to be intimidating but failing miserably. "I'm leaving this place whether you all like it or not. Now get your filthy hands off me."

His predatory smirk returned as he backed her into a near by wall and moved his body to press against her own, "Shit, babe. No can fucking do. You're staying right fucking here with me."

"Hidan, you bastard, get the fuck off me!" This comment only made his push more firmly against her causing force to be applied to her crush arm.

She screamed in pain and Hidan looked down at her arm before grasping the bruised and broken area tightly. Her cry was filled with even more pain, causing the white haired male to smirk at her discomfort.

"I'm going to make you fucking scream in pain and pleasure, baby."

She gritted her teeth before she moved herself under his position, "I'm just going to make you scream in pain." And she kicked him where no man should be kicked, making him fall over in pain. Sakura took the opportunity to run back towards where she knew there was an exit, even though she knew it was blocked. She was still going to give it a try. Appearing in front of the two younger Uchiha's, she continued to walk towards the door.

"It won't be that easy," Itachi commented, standing his ground as she approached closer.

"It doesn't have to be easy, it just has to be possible," she told them as she reached even closer, still holding her injured arm.

"Sakura, stop," Sasuke's voice told her.

"No. I will not stay here for the rest of my life. Just move, Sasuke."

"I can't."

"_Move_, Sasuke!" she screamed back as she was now directly in front of the two Uchiha's. "I may not have the best chances against you, but I will sure as hell try my luck if it means my freedom."

"Sasuke, Itachi," Madara's voice called out from behind them making Sakura turn around to see all the men she had been avoiding for the past four hours. "Let her through."

"As you wish, uncle," Itachi answered, moving aside fro Sakura to reach the doors.

"What's the catch that you're not telling me, Madara?" Sakura questioned as she turned to faced the group that had formed quickly behind her. "You wouldn't just let me leave within the time limit."

"You're right, I wouldn't. So take the opportunity while you still have it, love," he told her with a small smirk gracing his perfect Uchiha lips.

"Sakura, wait!" Sasuke's voice told her from her left.

"I've waited long enough," her voice whispered as she placed her hand on the large handle and pushed it open with all her might.

"Sakura, no!"

The door opened, but once it did, she didn't feel free. She felt a strong wind blow from inside the house through the doors and into the field outside.

'_What?'_

Thirteen figures appeared in the dead field, all but Sasuke facing her with a smirk.

"No," she whispered as she glanced at the group. "That's not _possible_! It's not even four yet! You _can't_ be released!"

"Sakura, do you happen to have the time?" Neji asked her as he signaled down to the watch on her wrist which was unfortunately crushed upon impact in the great hall.

"Your fall really only worked in our favor, Sakura," Pein's voice spoke as he and Madara stepped onto the porch and stood in front of the door way she stood in. "Time is an easily believable aspect of life."

"You tricked me," she whispered as the realization of the situation hit her.

"Tsk, tsk, Sakura love," Madara's voice scolded. "Sasuke even tried to warn you, but you didn't listen to him."

"You changed all the clocks," her voice still in disbelief in what she had just done.

"It really was too easy," Kakuzu commented from behind the two men.

"We thank you for your services, darling," Madara whispered in her ear as he delicately grasped her chin. "But don't worry, now that you've set us free you will never be rid of us. We're now bonded after all."

"No."

"You don't have a choice in the matter I'm afraid," Pein told her before they moved back to the rest of the men in the field.

"We'll be seeing you soon, love. But for now, we have some unfinished business to attend to." And they disappeared leaving the pinkette to sink to her knees on the porch.

'_What have I done?'_

"_The one who enters may provide release, but to forever take with them the evil that seeks. One is easily fooled by the darkness at hand, but know they will seek as fast as they can. You may try to flee from the evil they be, but remember that at the strike of more than four the evil may let you find a door._

* * *

><p><em>I got the right to put up a fight<em>

_But not quite, 'cause you cut off my light _

_But my sight is better tonight_

_And I might see you in my nightmare_

* * *

><p>Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it as much as I do! Don't forget to read this story as well as the others entered for the contest at StormDragon666's profile then vote for your favorites!<p>

Love you all!


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